Water Polo Club in full swing and ready for recruits

Think back to the last time you were in a pool. Were you hanging with friends? Were you relaxing in a jacuzzi? Or were you working out while making friends interested in the same sport?

The Boise State Water Polo Club does just that every Wednesday night from 9 to 10 p.m. in the Rec Center.

The idea to create a water polo club was originated by a group of three students: Travis Skodack, Matt Jones and Bryce Baker back in 2009.

Jones, a Utah native and biology major, has played water polo since he was young. The junior traveled to different cities and joined random polo teams, which eventually led him to play for the Junior Olympic team.

“It’s a thought I’ve always had. If I really wanted to I could, but I’d rather focus on my schooling right now,” Jones said on his thoughts for playing on the Olympic level.

Jones paved the way for his cousin Skodack, the first president of the club, to begin playing water polo. Jones introduced Skodack to the sport and before he felt comfortable enough, Jones signed the two of them up for a game, completely unbeknownst to Skodack, who instantly fell in love.

After moving to Boise from Santa Ana, Calif. to study accounting, Baker, an avid polo player, was more than willing to be a part of the club’s upstart. Baker began playing polo as a freshman in high school and had plenty of experience to know what it took to be a leader in the game.

“It’s hard to get people out for a sport like this where they don’t grow up knowing that this exists until the Olympics come,” said Baker. “That’s the only time that people really know what water polo is.”

While the effort to create the water polo club seemed worth it, they didn’t become an official club until
fall 2010.

In order to have a legitimate polo team, one must have seven players: six play out in the “field” and one defends the goal. This particular team had only scrounged up six total
players.

So, with only passion for the game and faith the logistics would work out, Skodack, Jones and Baker initiated the club regardless.

Along the way, the amount of players have fluctuated. As of right now, there are only four players on the roster, not including the 10 new freshmen who signed up at the “Get Rec’d and Recover” event held earlier in the semester.

“The club really is a ‘no-experience needed’ kind of group,” Baker said. “A lot of times (during practice), we’ll take groups to the side and do a lot of one on one to really help them learn the basics of the sport.”

So, next time you leave the pool, just think, “I coulda’ played water polo.”

I am a Freshman at Boise State University hoping to major in Mass Communication with an emphasis in Media Studies. I was the Editor-In-Chief of the Mountain View High School Yearbook in Mesa, Arizona. Nothing would please me more than to write amazing articles for the Arbiter and eventually write for National Geographic.